Show or Character

How to Dress Like Dr. Leonard Hofstadter

Many say that Doctor Leonard Hofstadter is the leader of our favorite group and seems to be the one who has it the most “together”. While Sheldon is unable to understand sarcasm and other social normalities, Raj is unable to speak to women unless drunk, and Howard's insufferably brash pick up lines, Leonard doesn’t seem to have any obvious character quirks. I feel this makes it natural for him to be the gang's leader, an island of normality for a group of very abnormal characters shipwrecked at sea.

​His clothing style also seems to fit this trend. He does not wear flashy belt buckles like Howard, or brown boring sweater vests like Raj. He seems to keep his outfits nerdy, very stylish and closer to what I would wear on an everyday basis; nerdily stylish without drawing too much attention to yourself.

​What is Leonard Hofstadter Wearing?

​Watching the show I often wonder if perhaps Leonard is suffering from Raynaud's disease (a thyroid condition that makes you feel cold all of the time) because living in sunny California, Leonard wears 3 layers every day. First we have a science themed T-shirt, then we have a zip up hoodie, and finally he tops it off with a jacket. For the rest of his outfit he wears stylish Chino pants, Chuck Taylor All Star Converse Shoes, and Horn Rimmed Glasses.

​I gathered a list of exact and similar matches to clothing items that Leonard wears on the show, and I hope it helps you out in dressing like Leonard Hofstadter, or perhaps compiling a Leonard Hofstadter cosplay or Halloween costume.

Where to Buy Leonard's Jackets

​Leonard has several different jackets that he wears on the show. Most of them are considered “Cargo” or “Military Field Jackets”. The exact brand of his jackets is unknown, however the costume designer frequently uses Urban Outfitters and Diesel brand clothing.

Urban Outfitters clothing line does not currently feature any “Leonard style” jackets. If you have read any of my other articles, you know that I prefer to get close look alikes on Amazon because it is easy to compare pricing and they have a wide selection. Free shipping as an Amazon Prime member also helps.

​The Diesel jackets most closely resemble the jackets that Leonard wears on the show in my opinion, however they are very pricey. If you were in the market for a quality jacket, you might as well get a quality one that will last, and Diesel is a trusted brand and has been in the business for almost 40 years.

My top choice for the Diesel jackets is this J-Akual Diesel jacket. It most closely resembles the tan colored jacket that Leonard Hofstadter wears on a majority of the episodes.

​Leonard also wears a darker jacket on many episodes and the closest match is the Lucky Brand Military Jacket or the darker colored Diesel jacket above. The Lucky Brand Jacket is a very close match and the only noticeable difference is instead of a single button on the breast pocket, this jacket has two. Leonard wears a few other jackets so be sure to check those out in the purchasing guide at the top of the page.

​Leonard's Hoodies

To pull off that Leonard look you have to include a zip up hoodie under your cargo or military field jacket. Honestly it doesn’t matter what zip up hoodie you use, Leonard wears so many different hoodies it is hard to pinpoint a “go to” hoodie like it is for many of his other clothing items.

If you do not have any zip up hoodies I would recommend the American Apparel Flex zip up hoodies. There are 30 different colors to choose from and they are relatively low cost. I recommend using some safety pins to pin the hoodie to the jacket to keep it from looking sloppy and keeping the T-shirt visible.

​T-Shirt Collection

Like his roommate and best friend Sheldon Cooper, Leonard has quite the T-shirt collection. Most of his shirts are more science oriented, physics specifically.

Leonard’s T-shirts do not seem to jump out at you like Sheldon’s, mainly because they are shrouded behind his jacket and hoodie combo, but also because his T-shirts play more to physics equations or the periodic table, while Sheldon wears bright super hero T-shirts.

With that being said, there are quite a few classic Leonard T-shirts. My favorite is the green recycling T-Shirt. If you are making a Leonard Hofstadter costume I would highly recommend the recycling shirt as it is the most recognizable of all of Leonard’s T-Shirts.

​Leonard's Pants

I do not think that Leonard’s pants should be a big focal point when making a Leonard Costume. I would recommend a pair of Volcom Chinos. To me they seem to best fit the style that Leonard typically wears on the show.

Any option is a safe bet and you likely already have something you can use in your closet, but if you want to get a close match I would go with the options that I have provided.

​Horn-Rimmed Glasses

The Leonard Hofstadter look is not complete without his signature glasses. He actually wears a few different pairs I was surprised to learn. It always seemed like it was the same pair but sure enough there are actually a couple different pairs he chooses from.

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